


The Paladin & The Princess

by orphan_account



Series: One Shots & Shorts [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Coda, M/M, Paladin Shiro, Princess Keith, Spoilers, dnd, dwarf pidge, idk what i'm doing i just want Keith to play mana & monsters game, ninja assassin lance, season 6, sorcerer hunk, warrior princess keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:37:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Who are you?” Pike asked.The man turned his gaze from Shiro to Pike. “My name is Keith. I’m a… princess,” he said slowly, fumbling over the title. “I guess.”“A princess?” Pike asked with a laugh. “Of what?”“Princess of… of…………”-- In which Keith gets to play Mana & Monsters :)





	The Paladin & The Princess

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted Keith to play Mana & Monsters... also princess Keith :) 
> 
> Allura didn't have a name for her character, so I just kept her regular name

“The leviathan demon lives… down there?” Blok muttered nervously to the group as they stood atop the Karthien mountains.

Shiro glanced up from readjusting his pack along his hip, fingers trailing over a dropped crystal they’d gained on their last journey together. The crystal contained a map to the leviathan demon’s lair along the Melkor valley. They were almost there, just a few more miles down the mountainside, and then through the Galaric Forest.

Soon, he would avenge his mentor. “Yes,” he said, his voice serious as his eyes gazed down their path. He could almost taste the revenge living at the back of his throat for the past five years. Finally, victory would be his.

“ _Great_ ,” Blok sighed, slowly dragging himself forward toward the path down the mountain. “Why can’t we just ever take an adventure break? We never stop. Why can’t we adventure through the Candelonian Valley or something.”

“Because the Candelonian Valley has nothing in it,” Mecklavar replied.

“I _know_ , exactly.”

Pike dashed forward, throwing his invisibility cloak over his shoulders, leaving only his head to bob along the trail. “Hey guys, look at me, I’m a floating head.”

Shiro snorted but kept his face as solemn as a paladin should be, following the others down the path. They were so close to victory and soon he would be able to destroy the leviathan demon who had vanquished his master. _I’m doing this for you_ , he thought, his hand clenched around the hilt of his new sword. _I’m doing this_ -

 

* * *

 

“What are you guys doing?”

Shiro jumped when Keith’s voice rang behind him while they all sat together playing a new round of _Monsters & Mana _. Keith had been asleep when they’d started playing and Shiro hadn’t wanted to wake him. After the journey they’d gone through after the beating Keith had endured, Shiro figured he deserved a nap.

“Playing _Monsters & Mana _, do you want to play, Keith?” Coran asked, turning to offer Keith a big grin. “It’s fun. You make a character and the game is played on this holo board here but the real fun happens up here.” Coran tapped his temple lightly.

Keith’s eyebrow went up and Shiro patted the spot beside him for Keith to join in on the fun. “It’s fun,” Shiro said firmly. “I’m a Paladin.”

“You’re already a paladin,” Keith said but sat down regardless. “I have to make a character?”

“ _Or_ ,” Coran said, withdrawing an orange character card. “I made this one a while ago and haven’t had a chance to use them… Would you like to play them, Keith?”

Keith eyed the extended orange card and Shiro tried to glance over the stats of the character but Keith accepted the card before he could read the text. “Sure,” Keith said with a shrug. “What do I do?”

“Well, you have a player piece,” Coran said, pulling out a piece for Keith.

Keith frowned, his eyes narrowing at the piece presented for his character. “Mine’s in a dress.”

Hunk and Pidge both broke into giggling fits and Lance slung an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “I think it suits you,” Lance joked.

Shiro covered his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh, quickly clearing his face of any amusement. “It’s a nice dress,” he said in an attempt to remain serious.

“Coran…” Keith said, his eyes flying over the card. “What character _am_ I, anyway?”

“Well…” Coran started and then quickly flew into an explanation. “You’re the princess at the end of the dungeon. You need rescuing from the evil leviathan demon!”

Keith’s eyes narrowed and he drew his eyes back to the card. “I’m a what?”

Hunk, Pidge, and Lance immediately burst into laughter so hard, the pieces on the board fell over. Allura smirked and then covered her mouth, attempting not to follow suit. Shiro smiled a little and took the card from Keith to read the stats.

“Says you’re the Princess Karamin and you’ve been locked in a dungeon your entire life. You have low strength but high intelligence. That’s good.”

“How is that _good_?” Keith snatched the card back and glared at the board, his shoulders slumping. “How do I change the stats?”

“You roll for them,” Coran said, offering Keith a 20 sided die. “Once you’re done, just edit the stats and we can continue on with our journey.”

“But I’m not even in the game until they… _rescue_ me,” Keith grumbled as he rolled the dice to edit the stats on his character. “Fine, whatever. Just keep going.”

“Good. Now, where were we?” Coran said and Shiro turned his attention back to the board.

 

* * *

 

The Galaric Forest stood wall overhead, ascending so high Shiro could no longer see the daylight of the sky above. The forest plunged them quickly into darkness, meaning they had no choice but to light the torches for guidance.

“Guys… I’m not sure we should do this,” Blok said, the nervous tone in his voice returned.

“We have to,” Allura replied, stringing an arrow to her bow, always on the ready. “Shiro helped us defeat the evil wizard Daikan… We must help him defeat the leviathan demon.”

“Yeah, Blok, stop being a scaredy cat,” Pike said, his fingers pinching along Blok’s sides.

“ _Ow_ , stop that- stop–.”

“ _Hush_ ,” Shiro said, raising his hand to silence them. “Do you hear that?”

Where once there was a rustle of wildlife around them as they walked, despite the darkness of the forest, now there was only silence. The only sounds in Shiro’s ears were the rushing of his heart and the crackling from the torch. A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the dark, followed by fangs longer than Mecklavar’s arms. Blok jumped back behind Shiro, giving him a push forward.

“What is that? What is that?” Blok whispered frantically.

Shiro drew his sword and brandished the blade at their unseen attacker. Slowly, the creature appeared, its jaws frothing with a green acid, burning the ground at its feet. Shiro’s heart flew into his chest at the large beast, standing eye to eye with him, its breath smelling of rotting flesh. The others backed up, forming a circle.

“Uh, Shiro…” Pike said, drawing Shiro’s attention. More of the same creature appeared, the others smaller than the leader staring Shiro down but their group was surrounded.

They were outnumbered.

“What do we do?” Blok asked, raising his staff. “What do we do?!”

“We fight,” Shiro replied as he lunged, swinging his sword upward at the creature, its acidic jaws quickly locking around his sword. The creature shook its giant head and send Shiro flying against a tree, cracking his spine and hard enough to send the breath right out of his lungs.

“Shiro!” Allura gasped.

Shiro grunted, his eyes blurry from the impact. The creature walked slowly up to him, the ground burning with its every step. He could see the teeth coming, they were going to end his life. He would never be able to avenge his mentor.

He was a failure.

A warrior’s cry filled Shiro’s ears and his vision cleared as a body jumped in front of him and the large acidic wolf. A lean and lithe silhouette knocked the creature back with Shiro’s sword in hand, moving too quickly for Shiro to even track. When Shiro’s sword drove into the large creature’s skull, it collapsed, its dying breath leaking out enough acid to burn a hole straight through the leaves under their feet. The smaller creatures howled in mourning before fleeing back into the night.

Shiro slowly picked himself up and leaned into the tree for support. His eyes trailed up from the corpse of the wolf until they fell onto eyes the color of swirling galaxies. Long black hair framed the handsome man’s face, where it trailed off into a braid hanging over his shoulder. A scar along his cheek, pink and familiar, made Shiro’s heart gallop in his chest.

“Who are _you_?” Pike asked.

The man turned his gaze from Shiro to Pike. “My name is Keith. I’m a… princess,” he said slowly, fumbling over the title. “I guess.”

“A _princess_?” Pike asked with a laugh. “Of what?”

“Princess of… of…………”

 

* * *

 

“Coran, what am I princess _of_?” Keith asked, drawing all of their attention from the game. “It doesn’t say.”

Coran was staring, his jaw stammering with uncertainty. “How did- you…. _You can’t just show up like that! That’s not how the campaign is supposed to go!_ ”

“They were going to _die_ ,” Keith argued. “Besides, I don’t _need_ rescuing.” Keith rolled his eyes. “They needed rescuing.”

“Are you _sure_ you can lift Shiro’s sword? Even Hunk’s character can’t lift it,” Pidge said, her eyes narrowing. “I can’t either.”

“You’re not playing right, Keith,” Hunk argued.

“So?” Keith spat. “Who made the rules anyway? I saved you, be happy. I could just leave you to your fate but I saved you. I don’t need saving.”

Shiro smiled and rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said. “For saving us, Keith.”

Keith turned a softer look and smile on him in return. “You’re welcome, Shiro… As many times as it takes, remember?”

Shiro stared at Keith, his heart racing in his chest as he remembered the words Keith spoke to him not only weeks ago. _I love you._ Everything he felt for Keith filled his chest with warmth and joy. “As many times as it takes,” he agreed with a firm nod.

“Ugh, get a _room_ , you two,” Lance grumbled. “C’mon, let’s keep on, I want to defeat the leviathan demon. Maybe we can do it with Keith around.”

“Yes,” Shiro agreed, his eyes still on Keith. He smiled again and Keith returned the gesture. “Keith can do anything.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on [tumblr](http://pining-sheith.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> basically i kept the castle of lions like it didn't just.... die


End file.
